Death in Winter

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Tonight. Maybe this does buckle up. The card's got more adventures coming, and we say goodbye to Three of the Greats on this edition of the multiverse. Are you ready to finish this year out? You know, I think um we're all ready to get done with this year and get into 2020. You know, this is the time of the year that things just slow down. I'm always amazed that I have enough news to report on, but a few things always come up. So uh before we get in the show, can you do something for me? Share the show with others. If you really like the show, you know, throw me a bone and donate. Uh let's get on with the news. So we uh start off Star Wars news today with Baby Yoda. Seems to be everywhere right now, doesn't he? Uh Baby Yoda wants you to know he still needs a car seat in the state of Mississippi. Or at least a Star Wars Mandalorian fan there does. The official Twitter account for the Mississippi Department of Transportation posted a Photoshopped highway sign that read, quote, Baby Yoda uses the force, but still needs a car seat, unquote. They also captioned it with quote buckle up. This is this is the way. Hashtag Baby Yoda, unquote. You know, Baby Yoda, Porgs, Ewoks, all cute. All more popular than almost anything else in the Star Wars universe. You know, maybe they should make a show starring Baby Yoda playing with Porgues and Ewoks. Just put that on a loop for about an hour. Speaking of the small green Muppet, Mandalorian director Bryce Dallas Howard has broken her silence on how it was to keep the character a secret, telling the Hollywood reporter, quote, agonizing. I've been walking around for the last year with a face like the cat that ate the canary. I'm so, so excited to be a part of this and the phenomenon that babe that baby has been become. The thing I was most nervous about was that my kids had been on set quite a bit, so they had seen baby and interacted with baby. When we were filming, my kids were 6 and 11, they're now seven and twelve. When the kids went back to school, every single day I would say, So what are you not going to talk about today? And they would say, Baby, and laugh. I'd be like, that's right. I would just constantly remind them that there's no circumstance that could ever arise when they're allowed to talk about baby. Now for them, it's very confusing because I'm like, oh now you can talk about baby, and they're like, oh, okay. We've been having this routine for about a year now, and it's fun. It's really, really fun. Everyone is super beep and there's no merch. Everyone is like, I want a baby Yoda stuffed toy. But I think they made a good choice in not focusing there, and just focusing on the storytelling, unquote. And I'm still so behind in watching it. I've only watched the first episode so far, there's just too much to watch in so little time. The press tour for the final Skywalker movie is in full swing, and JJ Abrams, in an interview with Cinema Blend, talked about Carrie Fisher's role in the movie despite her passing nearly three years ago. This involved using unused footage from The Force Awakens. JJ told them, quote, clearly, we would have done other things with it had Carrie been around, but I will say despite her not being with us anymore, her presence in the movie is not inconsequential. She's not being added in, so that she's in the movie, and I would say that her story, her role, the importance of Leia, I would argue is as profound as what you're saying, even though she wasn't there. There's no way, as I've said before, to tell the story without Leia. She's too important. It's Skywalker's saga. She's living Skywalker in our story. You don't want to start the story and say something happened to her in between movies. It just didn't feel right, and we'd never recaster it. A digital Leia wouldn't work. There was no way to do it. When we looked at the footage from Star Wars The Force Awakens, which I was obviously very familiar with, and realized we had a number of scenes we could use and write scenes around, it was suddenly like, oh my god, we could tell the story with Leigh in the film. The Rise of Skywalker comes out just a few days from now. Disney is warning fans that the new Star Wars movie could trigger seizures with those people with epilepsy. Disney issued a statement with the Epilepsy Foundation that the film contains, quote, several sequences with imagery and sustained flashing lights, unquote, that could affect those with photosensitive epilepsy. My guess would be flashes from lightsabers hitting together. Disney suggests that theaters post notices to warn of the risk. Flashing lights can trigger seizures in about 3% of individuals who have epilepsy. This isn't the first time Disney has given this notice, they also did it for The Incredibles 2. Now, let's uh check in with Star Trek for some Star Trek news. The merger of C of Viacom and CBS is now official. It's now CBS Viacom. And the newly reunited company is busy merging, selling, you know, the unneeded headquarters and eliminat duplicate positions and so forth. This also means that the Star Trek movie and TV rights are now back under one roof. So, what will this mean for the franchise? Will this mean new movies featuring the TV characters from the new shows? Maybe the next few stories will tell us uh what we need to know. So, with that behind us, let's uh first check in with the section 31 show. The new show is set to start filming once Discovery Season 3 is done. CBS All Access Executive Vice President Julie McNamara talking to Vanity Fair said that the writer's room under Alex Kurtzman has been assembled, quote, we are very excited about the Section 31 show, and Michelle Yo is excited to do it. She is in the current season of Discovery, so she's working on that right now. But we have scripts getting written, and Alex has a writer's room. We love what we've heard so far. It's yet another tonality of Trek. As Alex has mapped it all out, each show has its own unique sort of voice and vision. Kind of sounds like the Mandalorian. Uh, saying, quote, it occupies an area of the Trek universe that's never really been explored geographically. It has a new mythology to it, which is very interesting. It uh puts Michelle's character to the test in a lot of ways that Discovery can't. In some ways it will be her unforgiven, he said. And uh yesterday we also got the news that Star Trek Picard will not be just a one-shot series. The show has been renewed for a second season. However, Michael Jabon, the showrunner, will not be back as part of season two, as he's been named showrunner for the adaptation of the Cavalier and Clay novels over at Showtime. No word on when the second season will be, but my guess would be probably late 2020 or sometime in 2021. William Shatner is going someplace he knows very well. Divorce court. The soon-to-be four-time D Force has filed for a divorce from his wife Elizabeth, his wife of the past 18 years. This will be a smooth divorce as Mr. Shatner is a big fan of prenuptial agreements. Bill first got married back in 1956, that one lasted to 1969. His second marriage went from 1973 to 1994, and the next marriage after that was in 1997, which didn't last very long, ending with the death of his wife Nareen Kidd in 1999. Now, odds are that this is probably his last marriage. William Shatner is 88 years old, so he well, you can guess. Anyway, good we have some uh good news or bad news, depending on what side of the coin you're on. Quentin Tarantino, speaking with the Conscience of Sound.net, was asked if Star Trek was going to be part of his planned ten films. Remember, he always planned to do ten films and then stop. So he'd have this ten film arc of work. He replied, quote, I think I'm steering away from Star Trek, but I haven't had an official conversation with those guys yet. In a strange way, it seems like this movie, Hollywood, would be my last. So I've kind of it's kind of taken the pressure off myself to make that last big voila kind of statement. I mean, to such a degree there was a moment when I was writing and went, should I do this now? Should I do something else? Is this the tenth one? No, no, don't stop the planets from aligning. What are you, Galactus? If the Earth is saying do it, do it. Not that it was an argument, but a little thought like, well, if I'm gonna go out like Max Ulflus style, Lala Montez, that that this is it. And if it's not good, then all my other work is trash, alright? This would have been the one. But in a weird way, it actually kind of freed me up. I mean, I have no idea what the story of the next one's going to be, I don't even have a clue. Unquote. So there you have it, folks. Yeah, whether it's coming, whether it's not coming, is completely up to that man. And now for some sad news. Michael Lamper, husband of next generation actress Marina Surtis, has passed away. Marina broke the news on Twitter saying, quote, I'm going to be gone for a little while. My beloved husband passed away peacefully in his sleep last night. For those of you waiting for a shadow on Cameo, please forgive me. I don't feel up to it. I'll let you know when the service is back on, unquote. Michael was a rock guitarist and musician who once portrayed an Acamarian gatherer in the TNG third season episode, The Vengeance Factor. He and Marina married on June 21, 1992, with Brent Spiner and Michael Dorn acting as groomsmen in a traditional Greek ceremony. His rock career saw him play with such musicians as Tommy Sa Tommy Shaw from Styx, the Allman Brothers, Quite Riot, and Los Lobos. He was 61 years old. My heart goes out to Marina, and uh I hope uh I hope the best for her. Let's get on with some geek news. The Matrix 4 has cast Jonathan Groff in an unknown role. Groff is most recently known for his role voicing Kristoff in Frozen 2. Jonathan joins returning cast members Keanu Reeves, Carrie Ann Moss, and Jada Pinkett Smith, as well as newscomers Yaya Abdul Mateen II, Neil Patrick Harris, and Jessica Henwick. Variety has learned that Will Poulter will not be in the Lord of the Rings series on Amazon. Variety has learned from their sources that scheduling conflicts will present will prevent him from being a part of it. As to what role he would have played, that's still unknown. In fact, everything about the Lord of the Rings series is an unknown. Paramount Pictures has announced that the Power Rangers will be getting another big screen reboot. And this time it'll take it'll take the show back to the 90s. The Hollywood Reporter reports that Paramount is currently in early negotiations with Jonathan and Whistle and would involve, quote, a time travel element that brings the kids to the nineties. In the back to the future fashion, they have to find a way to get back to the present, unquote. You know, Power Rangers has has never been my thing, but uh you should go over to uh Netflix and watch the uh Toys That Made Us episode of Power Rangers. Very informative. Now, to say that Disney has had a good year at box office would be a gross understatement. The House of Mouse broke their own box office record of 7.6 billion setback in 2016, crossing the ten ten billion dollar ceiling. It should be noted that this doesn't include its newly acquired Fox films. If those are factored in, the number would be nearly $12 billion. Disney currently also holds six of the ten biggest movies of 2019. Yeah, I know. I I forget what year it is. The Golden Globe nominations are out. Netflix walked away with 34 nominations, 17 for motion pictures and 17 for television. HBO came in second with 15. The movie Marriage Story had the most for a film, while Chernobyl, The Crown, and Unbelievable had the most for television. Now Geeky films getting nominations include Joker, with four including Best Motion Picture, Best Director, Best Actor for Joaquin Phoenix, and Best Score. Also getting nominations were Frozen 2, How to Train Your Dragon, the Hidden World, and Toy Story 4. Only one Geeky TV nomination, Game of Thrones, wa came away with one Best Actor nomination for Kit Harrington. Now, Death seems to be rather busy lately. A few minutes ago, I talked about the death of Deanna Cerdis' husband. Well, there are three more I must report on. First off, we say goodbye to actor Robert Walker Jr. The actor passed away in Malibu on December 6th. He will be best known to people as Charlie Evans, the boy raised by the Thasians, who gave him omnipotent power in the episode Charlie X. He also appeared in episodes of The Time Tunnel, Bonanza, The Six Million Dollar Man, and Chips. He also had a role in the movie Easy Rider. In a statement, his wife said about Robert, quote, Bob always beat to his own drum and stayed true to himself in all of his endeavors. Although an accomplished actor, his true art was living full fully. He was a photographer, drummer, raccour, and gallery owner. His love of the ocean kept him in Malibu, and he had great tales of his adventures paddling to Catalina from there. Bob also had a consistent interest in developing his internal martial arts practice. He is survived by his wife, seven children, and five grandchildren. He was 79. Next is Star Trek writer Dorothy Catherine Fontana, better known as DC Fontana. DC began as a secretary for TV writer Samuel A. Peoples, and while working for him, she became a professional writer writing stories for The Tall Man and Frontier Circus. Later, she began working for Gene Rodberry's series, The Lieutenant, as a secretary for producer Del Reisman. Eventually, she wanted to work for Gene directly, and after finding out that she wanted to become a writer, Roddenberry encouraged her. In 1964, she would publish her first novel, a western, called Brazos River, co-written with Harry Sanford. When Roddenberry began working on Star Trek, and with the encouragement of associate producer Robert Justman, she began working on the show, where she wrote the teleplay for Charlie X and worked on 10 episodes overall, including Tomorrow's Yesterday, This Side of Paradise, which got her a promotion to story editor, Journey to Babel, Friday's Child, The Ultimate Computer, The City on the Edge of Forever, The Enterprise Instant, That Which Survives, and The Way to Eden. After Star Trek, she worked with Gene again on The Quester Tapes, Genesis 2, and Star Trek, the animated series. After that, she also worked on scripts for other shows including The Six Million Dollar Man, Logan's Run, Buck Rogers in the 25th Century, and The Waltons. When the Star Trek The Next Generation series began, she went to Gene immediately, where she pitched an idea that became the pilot episode Encounter at Firepoint. She would become an associate producer on the series, but left during the first season due to reported difficulties with writers Robert Lewin, causing a bit of falling out between her and Jean Ronberry, and so she left. She would later return to Star Trek, writing the Deep Space Nine episode Dax. She also wrote the Star Trek books Vulcan's Glory and an episode of the fan-made series Star Trek New Voyages. DC Fontana is survived by her husband, Dennis Skotak, who told the New York Times that her cause of death was cancer. She was 80 years old. And finally, we say farewell to Renee Abergeois, the actor known to Star Trek fans for his portrayal of Constable Odo on Star Trek Deep Space Nine, as well as directing eight episodes of the show. Renee was born in New York in 1940. After college, he began his acting career in earnest, working with theater companies in Washington, D.C., San Francisco, LA, and New York. In 1968, he landed a role on Broadway, appearing in three films simultaneously. A year later, he would win a Tony Award for his role opposite Catherine Hepburn in Coco. He directed and acted in lots of productions over the years and was inducted into the American Theater Hall of Fame in 2018. His film work is vast as well. He played Father McKehey in the film version MASH, played a gangster in Police Academy 5, Dr. Burton in Batman Forever, and appeared as Colonel West in Star Trek VI, The Undiscovered Country. His final film role in a movie called Cortex has yet to be released. But of course, his best known work was in television. He worked at that medium since 1966, appearing in episodes of The Mod Squad, Night Gallery, The Jeffersons, Wonder Woman, LA Law, The Outer Limit, Chicago Hope, Stargate SG1, Frasier, Nash Bridges, Warehouse 13, The Good Wife, and many, many more. But he is best known not only for his role as Odo, but the role of Clayton Indicott III on The Sitcom Benson, as well as the role of Paul Lewiston on Boston Legal. His last role in 2016 was in four episodes of Madam Secretary. He also did lots of voiceover work, appearing in Disney's The Little Mermaid, Family Guy, The Smurfs, Snorks, DuckTales, Batman the Animated Series, The Pirates of Darkwater, The Savage Dragon, Justice League, and more, as well as video games like Star Trek Deep Space Nine, Harbinger, Uncharted 2 and 3, Fallout, New Vegas, God of War, and Star Trek Online. He died on December 8th from lung cancer that had metastasized. He is survived by his son Remy and daughter Tessa and his wife Judith. In a statement to the press, his son Remy said that his father was a proud, progressive, and consummate professional and craftsman and praised his father's work with Doctors Without Borders. He also said that he was a dedicated father and had a fantastic sense of humor. Rene Bergenois was 79 years old. And that will bring us to the end of another sci-fi edition of Multiverse Tonight. Now be sure to check us out on social media. We're at Twitter at multiverse tom. We're also on Facebook and Instagram as well at multiverse tonight. And if you'd like to contribute some money, please visit mtpodcast.com to go to our coffee or Patreon links as well. And be sure to visit multiverse tonight.com and check out our affiliate market affiliate marketplace links, the link to our Tea Public Store, the show notes, and so much more. And if you're a subscriber, please be sure to share us with your friends. And if you're brand new to the show, please be sure to subscribe and leave us with some feedback and let us know how how I'm doing. Now, special thanks to Shane Ivers for our intro music and Lobo Loco for our outro music. Now thanks you thank you very much for watching the sci-fi edition of Multiverse Tonight. We'll be back in just two days with the comic book edition. Now please exit the universe in order in an orderly fashion. Good night. Multiverse tonight is a production of Half Big Genre Productions, Copyright twenty nineteen. All rights reserved.